There seems to be a problem with iTunes that, as far as I can tell, Apple is not addressing – at least not publicly. According to many users complaining in the iTunes support forums, and my own experience, Apple is not accepting some people’s credit cards and debit cards as payments for apps, music or what have you. The problem seems to be sporadic, which is probably why there is no official response on Apple’s forums.

Here is what happens. I go to iTunes and edit my credit card information in my account settings. In my case I entered the number from the Wells Fargo Business Visa/Debit card, which I have been using as a debit and Visa card for the last 8 years.
iTunes reports back an error telling me that the “Invalid Security Code” has been entered when in fact all the information entered is correct. Trying this process a number of times unsuccessfully raised red flags with Wells Fargo and they locked my card. Of course I had no clue my business card is locked until I try to make a purchase at a store. Then I have the scenario where I sheepishly flip through my wallet looking for another card while the store clerk and people in line behind me have that “Yeah, right, sure…” look on their faces. So then I call the bank, explain the situation, unlock my card and learn that my card in fact does have credit card capabilities. After all, there is a Visa logo on the card the rep tells me, and the issue is on the vendor side, not the banks.

To resolve the problem in my case I simply entered another credit card, non-debit, to my profile and things seem to be working now. However, according to multiple Apples support forum posts, changing to another credit card may not work. One user reports that even his PayPal account is being rejected. So you have tons of users who have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars with Apple all of a sudden not able to spend any more. Sounds counter intuitive. Type in “Security Code is Invalid” in the Search Discussions filed here to see the threads for yourself.

I’m sure in the grand world of Apple this maybe a tiny problem with a reasonable answer and a simple solution. But not addressing the issue publicly when the problem seems wide spread is not the way to go about this. So if you’re listing Apple – acknowledge the problem so that the very people who pay your salaries by making purchases don’t loose faith in the company that preaches innovative products and services.

If you’re reading this and have experienced this problem, then please tell your story in the comments.

This is the exact problem that I am facing right now. I have used this same card for itunes for at least three years- and through the course of two previous iphones. I was recently sent a new debit card since the old one expired. I entered my security code and it simply will not accept it. I just purchased the new iphone and I am thoroughly excited to get started but it will not accept my card. I am very interested to see if anyone has had any luck. I do not have another card to use.

the issue lies with overdrawn balance or money owing on Itunes…………………………..HOW TO RESOLVE INVALID SECURITY CODE………….=: You will HAVE TO GO AND BUY an itunes GIFT CARD to pay off owing balance THEN you WILL BE ABLE to enter credit card INFORMATION without ISSUES!
Now To AVOID this ISSUE again (INVALID SECURITY CODE) Be sure that the balance of your GIFT CARD Is ZERO DOLLARS and ZERO CENTS ($0.00) But I would use up the gift card BEFORE ENTERING new credit card INFORMATION To avoid this incident from happening again! But The issue has to do with Gift cards and Gift Card Balances! If I WOULD HAVE been smart I would HAVE used Credit Card RIGHT FROM THE VERY MOMENT i Opened ITUNES account! But I did not and kept having this issue any time there was a gift card balance on my itunes account! Doesnt matter if there is Money owing or money on the account! Not sure why or how but……….
There you go guys Go buy the CHEAPEST ITUNES GIFT CARD and take care of any balances owing then you WILL NOT HAVE "INVALID SECURITY CODE" IsSUES!

This is why a near-monopoly company is never good for the consumer. They know the population likes the product and will come crawling for it… so they figure to make you wait for any fixes. Until unless, some big oversight firm such as Consumer Reports come slapping them around… then they shape up.

Same problem here, I have an itunes account on my name no problem, my husband has been trying for months and cannot get it to go thru, same invalid security code. Even tried different card and still not working.

Yup same here. My daughter just bought a new ipad and her app and music purchases are linked to my credit card which has been active with Apple on iTunes for years. Same "Invalid Security Code" denial. Are they asking for your password to itunes? Which is my assumption. Either way it's very frustrating … and takes a fair bit of the joy out of having just spent $500+ on a new ipad. Wise up Apple – get this fixed!!!!!

I'm pretty sure it's because it's an old debit card, it wants you to verify your old number first, then you can put the new card number on there. If you recently got the card for the same bank account replaced, then it will have a different last 4 digits and security number.

This is not the problem for me, and I suspect it's not the problem for most people. I have several times put in the "new" security code for the new card and every time it states that my info does not match my banking records. And before you ask, I have tried at least 7 time and I am not mistyping anything. This is definitely an Apple problem and one I hope they fix soon!

This is exactly what I'm going through right now. I let my sister hold my ipod for a week, and I thought she changed my information. But when I put in the security code correctly, it would not accept it. It kept saying Invalid security code. As far as i know, it hasn't locked any of my accounts, and I hope it does not, but I will call my bank about it.

Yep – happening to me too, on a perfectly good credit card (not a debit card – a *credit* card). I've already been forced to use Windows via Parallels because the Mac doesn't have a good business accounting program. Maybe it's time to ditch Jobs for Gates? At least Gates does good charity work….

same here. its annoying me so bad. so i have a prepaid credit card and have been using for four years on itunes and it wont work. so i checked the balancea dn it was off by a few cents, so then i change it to my BRAND NEW debit card from USAA and it has 75 on it out of allowences. so i try that card number and security code and it still wont work. its really bothering me! i cant get music any legal way now, since my family only has and approves of apple on my computer. i really hope they fix this soon. i owe itunes 6 something and i cant buy free apps for my iphone! ugh. loyal customers should not have to go through this.

This is going on right now on my wife's account. She could not recall her password. We changed it, then Apple asked us to validate our billing info and we are stuck in a cycle of the payment not being accepted as valid. This is a joke Apple. This AMEX card IS valid, and contrary to some comments here, I am entering the correct card # and security code. This is a bug. And we have now been locked out for days.

Okay so this past summer when I first got my itouch, i was happy and proud to own it. Then all of a sudden…..around July it begin to show up as "your billing information is invalid" i started to panic because I was so sure I was entering the right numbers. I mean, I entered them 15 times (literally). Then I waited for about 2 weeks and out of the blue it starts working again. o.o Apple confuses me so much sometimes. And they say Window's is bad?! Sheesh, I'm having more problems with this than WIndows! Now out of no where it's doing the same thing it did before. I tried everythingggg. I truly give up. Ugh, I'm so aggravated with Apple till it's not even funny.

The trouble is that the Apple phone clones act like this has never been a problem before & that it's not in their screen script. Anyway, my scenario is no different than the people above have cited. I tried to switch over to PayPal as an option and nothing has happened. . .not even an email acknowledgment from PayPal saying that Apple is now charging the account.

Perhaps this is why there's a bite out of the apple in the Apple corporate logo — as in 'bite me.'

I am having the same problem with the security code also. I have been using the same cc on my Iphone for at least 6 months not having any problem. Now suddenly it asks to verify my billing info even if I just want to update my apps. So now not only canI not purchase anything from Itunes but i also can not update or even download free applications. Im VERY frustrated…. Has anyone figured a solution yet? – i have gotten no response form Apple as of yet. Help!!

I'm having the same problem but I have to pay a balance of $30.90 it might be because I don't have enough money in my account to pay it. So my bank probably won't let me use my card. It happened last week when I had only $1 in ym account then I got paid and it would let me put in my security code.

I just figure it out!, I was trying to call Apple and got iPhone support who told me my address had to be exactly as on my billing statement. Then he directed me to the itunes store chat which directed me to e-mail them which I still haven't gotten a response for. I called mastercard who didn't even get what I was asking about (securecode not security code). Then I called my credit union who issued the debit card who said there was a fraud list I might be placed under and itunes is one that doesn't work (there were certain states including california (where apple is) she read off). Now my card went through and everything is fine!

This is the 2nd time I have had this problem. The problem with the economy has been an overuse of credit cards, and many of us are using debit cards for credit cards. I called the bank, and they told me that they block any requests outside of state. I called their bluff and said that it's ridiculous, because I've already purchased things from Amazon, Microsoft, Sony, and other out of state POS (point of sale) web sites, and they all worked perfectly. Anyway, the bank was blocking i-Tunes, so I asked them to open it. Funny thing was that it was only good (according to them) day by day. That's BS, because many of you, I didn't even see a problem and was using EXACTLY the same billing info for months on end, and had no such problem with either end. I get the feeling it was a glitch that one or the other didn't want to discuss. Don't care, was able to purchase my absolutely free (yes, free) updates without problem.

Same story here. Last time I made an iTunes purchase a few months ago, everything was fine. The card has not expired since then. No info has changed. But now, when I try to buy, I'm told I must update my info and, when I attempt to do so, it doesn't accept the security code. There seems to be no solution. We just don't get to download music anymore. How stupid is that?

I just got my iphone 4 a little over a week ago. I have only downloaded free apps and about 5 days ago i started getting the dumb security code invalid message. I think its dumb its asking for cc info for free apps anyway. I have lots of friends that have androids and dont have to enter cc info for free apps. Come on apple dont make me regret buying my iphone, I am still in my 30 day period but i do like the phone but this needs to be fixed.

I have been having this same problem and it continued for almost a month or so. Finally, I saw something on one of the many pages I've viewed on some people's successes, and others failed attempts. It told me to sign into the iTunes Store in iTunes, and make sure the billing information was correct, and infact, mine was. Just as I thought this was going to be another failed attempt, at the bottom of the screen, there was a checked box that said, "Use this card to pay the outstanding balance of $2.16." and i proceeded to select continue below that. Low and behold, I signed out of the app store on my phone and signed back in to find out, now I could update and buy apps again. Funny how if this is the problem for most, it wont tell you anywhere but iTunes about any outstanding payments that need to be made. this may not be the issue for everyone, but it's not something most look for and it may just be your solution.

Hey, yea same problem, I just turned 18 so i got myself a debit card. After using my mums for the past year, aand using itunes cards for the past 3 and now i have an outstanding balance of a $1.29 and i cant even pay for it? i cant update, cant get free shit, cant toop up with anothher itunes card because it doesnt pay for my outstanding balance. this is bullshit.

A lot of people have this problem so Apple should really fix this!!!! i was excited when i got my ipod touch but when i entered my visa security code, it said "invalid." This is really stupid and frustrating!! i tried everything and it wont work. I need help

I am having this problem right now. My card was working fine for a week; I made purchases of music, apps, etc…. And then all of a sudden, my account information is "incorrect" in the eyes of apple. In all actuality, everything is correct. This happened with my dad's account too.
Apple, instead of having a simple, "e-mail us" or "call us at.." button, makes you go through all of these confusing processes and you never get where you want to be. I need a direct e-mail address to discuss my problem but I don't get one. I have a VERY short fuse and computers, phones, and iPods that don't work really just get under my skin and make me want to scream, cuss, throw a fit, and throw something across a room. I can't afford that. Apple needs to fix this. They know it's happening repeatedly yet they either choose to ignore it or aren't smart enough to fix it. In the case that it is the latter, they need to hand the company over to someone more competent who WILL FIX IT!!!

I see alot of people all over the net having this same problem, what if…..the software programmer for the ipad made an error, and where it is supposed to read your security code in the order that you type it in, it instead reads it in a dyslexic way. Meaning that it sees the third number as the second, and the second as the third…to simplify, switch the last 2 numbers of your security code when you enter it. See what happens then. "My 2 cents"